This invention relates to a device for packaging and dispensing plastic bags. More specifically, the present invention relates to a combination packaging/dispensing device allowing individual plastic bags to be easily dispensed from a roll of bags, aided by squeezing the entire package.
Plastic bags are available in a large number of formats, including a continuous roll of bags, each separated by a tear line, which is usually perforated. There are also several designs available for dispensing the bags, many of them made from paperboard, although some exist in plastic.
An important feature for all these dispensers is how they provide for easy dispensing and separation of the bags, while keeping the overall design simple and inexpensive to manufacture. Paperboard dispensers are complicated to produce, requiring color printing of the blank to be formed into the dispenser in many cases, followed by cutting and scoring, folding, and finally, gluing. Plastic dispensers are not as widely used as paperboard dispensers, and they have their own production obstacles, such as affixing a label or other indicia to the dispenser.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved package/dispenser for a continuous roll of plastic bags or other articles.
It is another object of the invention to provide a simple means of detecting when the roll of bags is almost depleted.
It is thus a feature of the invention to provide a dispenser made from a resilient, transparent material, having a generally cylindrical shape, wherein the dispenser may be deformed to grip the roll inside and aid in separating the bags.
It is also a feature of the invention to provide a package/dispenser having substantially the shape of a tennis ball container and having a narrow longitudinal slot there in for dispensing the plastic bags.
It is another feature of the invention that the longitudinal slot be provided with means for facilitating the removal of plastic bags from the roll.
It is also a feature of the invention that the roll of articles is surrounded by a flyer or other paper carrying indicia, such that the flyer covers the slot from the inside, preventing the removal of bags during shipping or storage and such that the flyer is visible due to the transparency of the dispenser.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the detailed description of a preferred embodiment in conjunction with a review of the appended drawings.